Many people find themselves stuck in jobs that they’ve been working in for years, but that they don’t particularly like. These might be dead end jobs or they might be jobs that they like, that even have opportunity for advancement, but they are simply in a rut. However, if you’re just not happy doing what you’re doing, then your career isn’t going to go the way that you want until you get your mojo back on track. The problem is that many people don’t actually have much of a plan when it comes to their careers.

Read on for a few tips to improve your job situation.

Visualize. What’s your dream job? Many people don’t actually know what they want to be doing in life. If you don’t know what’s going to make you happy, then how are you going to achieve it? You’ll probably end up drifting from one place to another without any focus. Instead, take the time to think about where you’d eventually like to be. You can do this by just closing your eyes and thinking about your ideal job situation. Or you can write down all the details of your dream job the way you imagine them.

Perseverance. Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book Outliers that there’s a 10,000 hour rule. Anyone who has spent 10,000 hours doing a particular thing is likely to become great at that thing. Gladwell himself didn’t begin his professional life at the New Yorker. He worked his way up from smaller publications until he had this prestigious gig. And he no doubt spent 10,000 hours writing in the process. Don’t be daunted by the idea of working this hard. If you love what you’re doing, then spending 10,000 hours at it won’t seem like a chore.

Presentation. No matter how good you are at your job, you’re still going to create a bad impression if you show up for work looking shabby and unkempt with coffee stains on your latest work product. These might be superficial things to you but the fact is that many people go by presentation. So learn to present yourself in a professional manner. You’ll be surprised at the general change in attitude towards you.

Networking. People talk a great deal about the importance of networking and how it can help you with many career-related things, from finding a new job, launching your own business, or getting a promotion. Still, many of us don’t maintain a network of friends and colleagues whom we are regularly in touch with. With Facebook and LinkedIn, you now have no excuse to slack off in your networking efforts. All you need to do is glance at your social media everyday and keep track of what people are doing. It doesn’t hurt to post your own updates as well.

Taking Risks. Another important element of succeeding in your professional life is taking risks. These don’t have to be really big risks. Even little ones can add up in the long run. Leaving your job and starting your own business is a big risk. But applying for a higher position in your company is not as big a risk. If you are a writer working at a newspaper, you might feel that writing a novel is a big risk. However, if you don’t write a novel, you’ll never have one published. So you have to start working towards your dreams by taking risks.

Staffing Plus is a premier healthcare staffing firm that provides temporary, per diem, temp-to-hire and permanent Staffing Solutions for Behavioral Health, Education, and Healthcare settings. We have leveraged decades of experience to assist organizations with the challenges of managing their HR and Recruiting needs.